Bjørnsund

 

This is an island group located off the west coast of Norway in the Atlantic Ocean. The name Bjørnsund directly translated means “the bear sound". According to folklore, the name stems from an ice bear that came floating on an icefloe, and swam ashore there. The truth to this is highly questionable!

 

This island was a very important fishing community, being first populated many hundred years ago. In 1900 it had about 500-600 people living there. The community was moved to the mainland around year 1970 due to the difficulty of providing modern community services. Today the buildings are well maintained as vacation homes for the owners. The islands are serviced by a small boat “Øybjørn” (Island Bear) during the summer season.

 

A lighthouse has been in operation since 1871, and is still very important for both commercial vessels and the fishing fleet.

 

The pictures below were taken in August 2018. And we were lucky to get unusually nice, warm 25 ºC, and calm weather.